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Patented Mar.

J. B. Z. DUMAIS.` CABLE GAR BRAKE.

(No Model.)

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2 sheets-sheet 2- maw MRP. UB, R DA Z.Gl m BB .A TUC Witnesses Anya NiTE i STATES' PATENT Orrin-n..

JEAN B. Z. DUMAIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES BACHRACH, OF SAME PLACE.

CABLE-CARBRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part ornetters Patent No. 536,329, dated Maren 2e, 1895.'

Application led January 24, 1895. Serial No. 536,019. (N 'o model.)

To LZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEAN B. Z. DUMAIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new Aand useful Improvements in Cable-Railway-Car Brakes, which are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, represents a side elevation of a portion ofl a cable grip-carv partly broken away; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3,aside elevation ofy the grip mechanism detached with my invention applied and in idle position; Fig. 4, a similar view of the same with the said improvement in Working position; Fig. 5, an end or edge elevation of the same, looking'in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4;

and Fig. 6, a side elevation similarto Fig. 3,

but looking in the opposite direction. In these drawings, Figs. l and 2 are upon one scale; and Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive, on another and enlarged scale.

My invention relates to a device for braking cable railway trains or grip-cars, the object being to obtain a device the action of which is quick and very powerful to suddenly stop the car in case of emergency.

The invention consists in a beveled metallic plate or strip, preferably applied to one or both sides of the grip-holder or support and adapted to slide vertically thereon, in connection with mechanism whereby it may instantly be set down sharply into the gripslot, thereby braking or stopping the car by the quick and forcible wedging of Vthis plate or plates between the grip-support and the edges of the slot.

It is not necessary for an understanding of my invention to show and describe an entire gripcar and cable railway track, as in all general features the construction of these parts may be of any known type. I have therefore shown only so much of a grip-car and cable railway bed as is necessary to an understanding of the improvement. A description in detail of the construction and operation of these essential parts and my invention applied thereto will now be given, and the special improvements which are believed to be.

new and which it is desired to secure by LettersPatent will-,then be pointed out more disl tinctly in claims.

In the drawings, A. represents the trackrails of a cable railway, and B. the horizontal strips, or' slotrails7 which are connected respectively with the track-rails by means of cross-arms or braces, a, these parts of course being metal. The slot-rails B. run parallel with the track-rails and are brought near together so as toprovide a narrow space or slot between them. This is a structure well known and in general use, and the free space between the slot-rails is known as the gripslot. It will be understood of course that there is the usual cable conduit below the grip-slot, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Only a part. of a grip-car is shown. C. represents the bottom orlioor of the car, which is mounted in any usual way upon the axles, D., of the track-wheels, d., which of course are arranged to run on thetrack-rails. The gripsupport, E., and grip, F., are of ordinary construction, the support, as shown in the drawings, being connected by depending arms, e., to the car-bottom, so as to be supported and carried along by the latter. This grip-support passes down through the grip-slot, as usual, and is provided at its lower end within the conduit with anti-friction IOl'lers, e.,y on

which the cable, G., rests. Thegrip, F., is V mounted in this support in any known way so as to slide vertically therein and grip the cable between it and the usual bed-piece, e2., at

one side of the grip-holder between the rollers y thereon, the vertical portion of the grip being provided with the usual cross-bar, f., adapted to be forced down on this bed-piece. The devices shown in the drawings for actuating the grip are, a bell-crank lever, l-I.,pivoted to the grip-support and having a slotted connection at one end with the upright portion of the grip and at the other, by means of a connecting rod, h., with a hand lever, h., mounted on the car where the attendant is expected to stand.

The brake device which is the subject matter of the present invention, as illustrated in the drawings, is applied to and carried by the grip-support. This device consists of long, rather narrow metal plates, I. and I., of some- IOO what greater length than the width of the grip-support. These plates are constructed to be applied to the respective sides of the grip-support transversely thereof and free to slide up and downthereon. They are constructed with a lower section, .,which is inclined or beveled on its outer face in relation to the grip-support, this inclination being downward and inward, thus providing a kind of wedge surface at the lower portion of the plate which runs transversely of the grip-sup port and extends out beyond each edge of the latter. This inclined section takes a large portion of' the width of the plate, and the remaining or upper section, 15'., above this incline, is preferably of uniform thickness. The invention may be applied with only one of these plates on one side ofthe grip-holder, but the preferable construction is to apply a plate ou each side of the grip-holder, which is the arrangementshown in the drawings. For this purpose each end of each plate beyond the edge of the grip-holder is thickened somewhat on the inside, thereby forming a kind of head, 712., and these heads or thickened ends of the plates come together at each edge of the grip-holder and are secured by bolts, 723., or in any other suitable way. The beveled plates, under this arrangement, inclose the gripholder and at the same time are free to slide up and down thereon.

The inner faces of the plates tit the sides of the grip-holder quite nicely, so that, if they are moved down to the grip-slot, they will enter the latter on each side of the holder-,thus introducinga kind of long wedge between the grip-holder and the slot-rails on each side ot' the former, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Obviously, it these plates are brought down into this position in the grip-slot with sufficient force, they will operate as stops or brakes to the grip-car; the inclined faces on the plates will act as wedges and, when forced down intothe slot with sufficient power, will producelsuch frictional resistance to the movement of the car as will very quickly completely stop the latter, unless the grip-support gives way. Obviously devices are required whereby the attendant or driver on the car may operate these sliding, wedge-shaped plates or brake device whenever necessary, and the mechanism for this purpose may be varied.

As illustrated in the drawings, one of the plates carries a kind of standard, J., which, as shown, is a triangular-shaped plate the base of which is about as long as the brakeplate to which it is attached by means ofthe bolts, i3., and extends upward thence in tapering form. An angle or crank-lever, K., is pivoted at its angle to the upper plate section, e3., of the grip-support. The long arm, 7c., of this lever is connected to the inside of the standard J. by means of a pin,j., on said standard, which enters a slot, o., in said arm of the lever. The short arm, k2. of the lever extends upward and is connected with a handlever, L., by a rod, Z., this hand-lever being mounted on the car-frame similar to the griplever and very near the latter, so that the attendant or driver may easily reach either. Obviously, by means of this lever, the attendant may force down the brake-plates with all the strength he possesses and thereby brake or stop the car quickly, as 'described above. 'lhe wedge-shaped plates will of course be lifted by throwing the lever in the opposite direction when ever it is desired to release the car again.

There are some specific features of construction differing somewhat from plain, wedge-shaped brake-plates secured together by ordinary bolts, which will now be described.

The brake-plate I., on the side of the gripcar opposite the plate I., to which the operating mechanism is connected, has its central lower portion cut out, thereby providing a long notch or recess, it., in length corrrsponding to the width of the grip-holder, so that y the latter may be received between the two enlarged or thickened ends 0f the said plates, as seen in Fig. 6. Furthermore, the brakeplates are connected together so as to be somewhat yielding. For this purpose the connecting bolts, t3., are made somewhat longer than the thickness of the plate ends, so that there is a projecting end, t5., of each bolt extending out some distance beyond one of the plates, as seen in Figs. 2 and 5. On the extremity of this projection is a nut, is., between which and the plate on that side of the grip-holder' there is a spring, t7. These bolts are near the upper edges of the brakeplates, and, being loose on the bolts, it is obvious that the said brake-plates may be separated or forced apart somewhat at their said upper edges, the springs on the bolts yielding to permit this. The device shown in the drawings for this purpose is an extension, 7a4., at the extremity of the long arm of the lever K. This extension is widened and bent inward so as to be brought into the same plane as the opening between the upper edges of the brake-plates and is provided with a beveled or wedge-shaped outer or lower edge, if., the contour of this edge being circular or curved, preferably, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. New, when the brake-plates are lowered or forced down into the grip-slot, as described above, this projection on the end of the actuating lever will be driven down between the upper edges of the brake-plates, and, being wedge-shaped, the said plates will be separated more or less, as suggested above and as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. This action obviously will increase the wedging force or action of the said brake-plates, for the least separation or forcing outward of the upper edges of the said plates must increase the wedging and stopping contact of the inclined or beveled surfaces of said plates in contact with the slot-rails as indicated in Fig. 5.

The application of this braking mechanism is independent of the grip and may be ap- IOO IIO

IIS

plied whether the latter is'in operation or not, though of course it will be expected always that the gripis released before or at the moment the brake is applied.

There may be modifications in the mechanical devices here shown and described, without departing from the main features of my vinvention, and such changes are contemplated. It will also be apparent that the wedging brake may be mounted on a suitable support quite separate from the grip-holder; but the arrangement of the sliding plates upon the gripholder as herein shown and described is the one preferred. A carrier-support for the brake-plates may also be applied to cars run as trailers to the grip-car, on roads where trailers are used, if desired. If thus applied, the brake may be operated by the conductor on each car.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In cable railway cars, a support depending from the bottom of the car and adapted to enter the grip-slot, in combination with a plate on one or both sides of said support, free to slide vertically thereon and inclined or beveled on its outer face, and mechanism whereby the attendant may quickly force the inclined or wedge-shaped plates down into the spaces between the support and the respective slot-rails, substantially as described.

2. In cable railway cars, the grip-holder secured to the car-bottom and depending therefrom, in combination with the slot-rails down between which the grip-holderfpasses, plates inclined or beveled on their outer faces and constructed to be applied to embrace the gripholder, but free to slide vertically thereon, and mechanism, terminating near the driver or attendant, whereby the latter may quickly and readily depress the said plates and force the beveled edges into the grip-slot, substantially as described.

3. In cable railway cars, a grip-support, E., depending from the car-bottom to which it is connected, in combination with the slot-rails through which the gri p-support passes, plates, I. and I., of greater length than the width of the grip-holder, beveled along their outer faces and provided with thickened ends or heads, i2., at their projecting ends, adapted to embrace the edges of the holder, fastening devices for securing the said plates together at their upper edges, and mechanism, connected to one of the plates, whereby the attendant may lower and raise the latter at will, substantially as described.

'4. In cable railway cars, a wide plate-support, secured to and depending from the car bottom and adapted to pass down through the gripslot, in combination with plates of greater length than the width of said support, beveled on their outer faces and constructed to surround and loosely embrace said support when fastened together, fastening bolts, i3., passing through the upper edges of said plates and projecting beyond the same on one side of the support, a spring, i7., applied to the projecting bolt-ends between the nuts or heads thereof and the adjacent plate, mechanism whereby the attendant may readily force said plates down into the slot between the slot-rails, and a wedge-shaped device connected with said mechanism and adapted to be driven in between the upper edges of the plates when the latter are depressed into the grip-slot by the attendant, substantially as described.

5. In cable railway cars, a gripsupport, E., connected to and depending from the carbottom, in combination with plates, I. and I., constructed to be applied to and loosely embrace the grip-support and provided' with beveled lower edges, t., which edge, in the plate I., is cut away to provide a long recess, 4., bolts securing the upper edges of said plates, and mechanism, connected with one orboth of said plates, whereby they may be lowered and raised along said grip-support, substantially as described.

6. In cable railway cars, a gri p-support, E., depending from the car-bottom, in combination with beveled plates, I. and I., constructed to loosely embrace said support, an elastic or yielding device for connecting said plates at their upper edges, a crank-lever, K., pivoted to the grip-support and connected by one arm, 1c., with the sliding beveled plates, the said arm having a wedge-shaped extension, 104., and a lever, L., connected to the other arm, k2., of the lever K., 'whereby the attendant, by operating said lever, may force the beveled plates down into the grip-slot and simultaneously drive the wedge-shaped lever extension in between the upper edges of said plates, substantially as described.

7. In cable railway cars, a grip-support, E., connected to and depending from the carbottom, in combination with beveled plates, I. and I., adapted to loosely embrace said support and slide vertically thereon, a standard, J., fastened to one of said plates and rising therefrom, an actuating lever, K., pivoted to the grip support and connected by a slot at one end with the said standard, and an actuating lever, L., connected to the other arm of said lever, substantially as described.

JEAN B. Z. DUMAIS. I

Witnesses:

A. A. MURRAY, G. A. 'HnLMIclr IIO 

